About Loreto South Sudan
In 2006 the Loreto Sisters (Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Irish Province) have been invited by the late Bishop Caesar Mazzolari to open a Girls Secondary Boarding School in Maker Kuei, Rumbek. Loreto Rumbek Girls Secondary School opened in 2008 with 35 girls enrolled from all over the country.
It quickly became apparent that many girls here do not attend primary school and are therefore unable to attend secondary school. That is why the sisters opened Loreto Rumbek Primary School in 2010 for boys and girls from the nearby villages.
Today are around 1200 children enrolled in primary school and 400 girls in secondary school.
What was initially intended as emergency medical care for the students developed during the years into a primary health care unit, which was upgraded by the Minister of Health in 2019 to a Primary Health Care Centre (PHCC) focusing on children and women. The Mary Ward PHCC currently runs nine different programmes, such as a nutrition programme for malnourished children, a vaccination programme, a programme that supports parents with twins, a support programme for people with epilepsy, psychosocial counselling and an outreach programme for the local community.
In 2023, the Loreto Education Centre was opened to prepare young people from Rumbek for their professional careers. English and computer courses, career counselling, business courses and mental health courses are part of the standard programme. Women from the surrounding villages can do a tailoring course here, and teachers receive comprehensive teacher training.
As higher education is still difficult to access for girls in South Sudan, Loreto has an Internship and Scholarship Programme. Graduates of Loreto Girls Secondary School and La Salle Boys Secondary School can apply for a 1-2 year professional internship. Here, the young people gain their first professional experience in the areas of primary education, health care, administration, maintenance and agriculture, and improve their English and computer skills. At the end of the internship programme, they receive a scholarship for universities in South Sudan or East Africa.
In 2023, former students invited the sisters to the north of the country, to Aweil. The educational situation is precarious in this area, so after careful consideration, the sisters decided to open a second school compound modelled on the one in Rumbek. In November 2024, the first sod was turned and the land was blessed. In November 2025, the first team was able to move into the sisters' house.
At the beginning of 2026, construction of the secondary school will begin and the first group of students will start their secondary education in Rumbek until the classrooms and accommodation in Aweil are ready. In spring 2026, the first kindergarten group will also start under simple conditions.
Loreto School South Sudan are one of many Loreto schools and colleges worldwide to have been founded by the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM) - find out more here.